For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations,
their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and sisters,
for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation
thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
JACK: 10 years ago on this day the nation stopped to watch
Kevin Rudd - Australia's Prime Minister at the time -
apologise to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
for the Stolen Generations.
As Prime Minister of Australia, I am sorry.
On behalf of the government of Australia, I am sorry.
On behalf of the Parliament of Australia, I am sorry.
The Stolen Generation is the name that has been given to a group
of Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their homes.
During the 1900s, the Australian government
took almost 50,000 Indigenous kids from their families and their homes.
They were put into missions, orphanages,
or with white foster families.
At the time, the government had policies in place that forced
kids to reject their Indigenous heritage and adopt white culture.
Their names were often changed
and they were forbidden to speak their traditional languages.
The removals caused a lot of pain for Indigenous people.
# Then they took the children
# Took the children away... #
The removals continued up until the '60s,
when there were big protests and people began campaigning
for Aboriginal people to be treated better.
And, in 1969, the government stopped taking away Indigenous kids,
and Australians started learning about the impact
the Stolen Generations actually had.
# Breaking their mother's heart
# Tearing us all apart
# Took them away... #
We were a family of eight.
We lost everybody. We lost each other.
We lost our grandparents. My aunts were looking for us.
My aunts were knocking on doors and ringing the welfare.
We lost our whole family. Um, they changed our names.
They changed our whole heritage, our identity.
In the '90s, there was a big investigation
into the forced removals.
It became known as the Bringing Them Home Report,
and that report included a recommendation
that the current government apologise for the laws and policies
that were put in place by previous governments.
# You see it doesn't take that much to say you're sorry... #
But it wasn't until 2008 when Kevin Rudd became prime minister
that Indigenous people heard these words.
As prime minister of Australia, I am sorry.
After the speech, there was a huge reaction.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
10 years on,
the impacts of the Stolen Generation are still being felt.
Indigenous kids still face a lot of problems and inequality.
There are families still grieving for their losses
and there are people who still haven't been able
to reconnect with their parents.
But despite that,
most still look back on the apology as the first step
in a very long journey of forgiveness.
MAN: All these years, we waited, you know,
for someone to say sorry from government...
..and I say this really makes me feel different altogether.
I'm really thankful about that.
I love what's happened today.
It took a long time, but it's finally...
Finally got what we wanted.